Chemistry
by mickeylover303
Summary: Ryan was just trying to do the right thing. RyanGreg.


If anything, it was the last thing he expected to hear. He felt like he was in the middle of some kind of strange displacement and wasn't sure if he even heard correctly in the first place. And it left Ryan with no choice but to ask the proverbial question.

"What?"

"I asked if you wanted to come in?" the man said, again. He played with his hands nervously, head slightly lowered as he peered at Ryan beneath his eyelashes. If Ryan wasn't distracted when they were in the club, he found himself incredibly so as he stood outside the other man's door.

"Look, I'm sorry for," Ryan paused, not sure how to describe pinning the other man to the wall…it was a reflex when he began to kick at Ryan. He decided to just tilt his head toward the bush that lay unceremoniously next to the sidewalk, as if the vegetation could provide the necessary verbiage. "I don't even know your-"

"Greg," the man interrupted hastily, briefly shying away when he realised how he must have sounded, at least to Ryan, anyway. "My name is-"

"Greg…" Ryan looked at _Greg_ disbelievingly, suspicion nagging at him even though he knew he was the last person who had the right to pass judgement. After all, he _was_ the one who followed Greg to his apartment just to give back the other man's cell phone.

Although, Ryan could say he at least tried to introduce himself and attempted to explain why he pursued Greg before the other man tried to – with emphasis on the word tried – to defend himself against Ryan.

Ryan would like to think it was because of his experience as a cop and not his pent up aggression or the tingling in his stomach that gave him the upper hand.

"Greg," he repeated, fingering the cell phone Ryan had given him only moments ago. "And you're Ryan, right?"

Ryan nodded his head, making sure not to let his surprise of Greg remembering his name show on his face.

"Sorry about earlier," Greg apologised, leaning against his door. "If I knew you were just trying to give me back my phone…"

"No…I," Ryan began, but paused when Greg broke out into a smile. It was the same one that admittedly attracted Ryan a couple of hours ago from a distance, seeming to confirm why he took the chance and followed Greg in the first place. "I shouldn't-"

"I mean, my friend would have killed me if I lost it."

Ryan wanted to say that it was really his fault, but his attention was diverted to the level of comfort the other man seemed to display around him…as if they already knew each other. It wasn't the most unpleasant feeling, but the sense of familiarity Greg was trying to use to brush off the situation was only making things more uneasy for him.

It wasn't like the situation wasn't awkward enough, but Ryan knew he only had himself to blame.

And maybe it wasn't the fact that only a few minutes ago he had Greg against the door that was making things somewhat difficult. Ryan concluded it was more likely the fact that he was just now finding out that his body had a will of its own and was bringing Ryan increasingly closer to Greg for a second time.

Yet, this time it didn't have as much to do with self-defence as it did with how his blood was making its descent and spreading to other areas.

He was in a position where he could feel the other man's breath on his skin and the tension radiating from his frame, slight tremors compelling Ryan to move even closer and use his body to keep Greg still.

Although, Ryan thought it was somewhat strange that he was trying to convince himself that this was what he wanted. Because he acknowledged that underneath the exterior of doing a good deed, some part of him had really followed Greg because he wanted an excuse to see the other man without the background of noise and lights.

He wouldn't deny that his intentions were infused with the growing arousal that actually gave him the nerve to be here, but at the same time, something was holding him back.

Here he was, outside Greg's apartment, still being invited inside despite their shaky meeting and Ryan couldn't let himself do it. Considering the nature of the club and the look in Greg's eyes, he knew this was a chance for sex. It was something he wouldn't normally turn down and with the benefit of living in Miami, he wouldn't have to worry about any emotional attachments.

He'd be gone in a few days.

But when he reached to touch Greg's arm, bare skin sending a tingling feeling to his hand that seemed to course throughout his body, Ryan found himself murmuring an apology and retreating.

He didn't turn around as he walked away, leaving Greg alone underneath the light of his porch.

* * *

Ryan groaned as he rolled over in the bed, extending his arm to turn off the alarm, somewhat upset when he only succeeded in making it fall to the floor. That would mean he would actually have to get out of the bed in order to get rid of the noise. 

He rubbed his head against the pillow, briefly shaking out his legs in an attempt to get rid of the vestiges of sleep that were plaguing his body. He set his alarm for five…not usually what he would constitute as early, but Ryan didn't feel as though he'd gotten any sleep last night.

And he wasn't sure if he could admit that it had nothing to do with what happened two days ago because in all honestly, he knew it had everything to do with his encounter with Greg.

Ryan was originally sent to Las Vegas for a conference about the new technologies available for extracting and analysing DNA. It was something no one really wanted to go through, but since he was the new guy, he didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. Not that he was complaining. As much as he didn't want to admit to it, it was nice to have a break from his colleagues…because they weren't exactly the most inviting kind of people.

At least they weren't around Ryan, anyway.

He wondered if Greg had that problem, ignoring that voice in the back of his mind that said to leave the subject alone. But he couldn't comprehend the idea of simply not liking Greg. It was true that Ryan was only basing this from watching the other man dance and their little foray outside of Greg's apartment, yet Greg just seemed like that person in high school that everyone knew.

Ryan wouldn't say popular was the word he was looking for…likeable was probably better.

He didn't know what it was about Greg that kept the other man on his mind. It wasn't like he was looking for a relationship these days, just something to pass the time; which made him question again why he passed up on the opportunity to get laid with no strings attached.

Greg was attractive enough…the image of the smile on his face only seemed to reinforce the notion in Ryan's mind. And the more he thought about it, the more Ryan realised what prompted him to follow the other man home in the first place.

Finally out of bed, Ryan reached the alarm clock, hitting the snooze button and giving himself another ten minutes. Putting the clock on the small table, he turned to gaze at the dark blue sheets on the bed. They reminded him of the blue shirt Greg was wearing, seemingly plain with a deformed and smiling skull in the front.

He turned to the window of his room, the hotel looking over the Strip as the sun began to rise.

* * *

Ryan sighed heavily, slightly rocking on his heels as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. 

He had no idea as to what he was doing, no clue whatsoever as to why he was outside Greg's apartment, but it was already too late. Ryan already rang the doorbell and was doing his best not to give into the urge to simply walk away and forget about being here only a few days ago and somehow showing up with no further notice.

Though, it wasn't like he had Greg's number stored somewhere; had any way to contact the other man.

He would ignore the fact that he remembered how to even get here.

But coming here was more than just a whim. Ryan's flight was scheduled to leave sometime tomorrow afternoon and he didn't want to think of the multiple what-if's that would beat at him for not seeing what would have happened if he went inside Greg's apartment that night…maybe what could still happen.

He cursed silently, looking at his watch to see it was a quarter after eight.

Ryan didn't think about the possibility of Greg having company. The other man could be sleeping, or not even here if it had anything to do with Ryan's luck. The light wasn't on and he couldn't tell if there were any on inside of the apartment.

He sighed, about to turn away when he heard the door opening, a familiar voice behind. "Ryan?"

Stilling, Ryan suddenly remembered the sheer idiocy of even coming here. It didn't register that Greg remembered his name, too, only the earnest confusion that displayed on the other man's face. "Greg, I…" he stuttered, losing hold of his ability to speak.

"What are you doing here?" Greg asked, covering his mouth as he used his other hand to reach into the apartment and turn on the light.

Ryan was going to say he wanted to take Greg up on that offer, but his mind was more focused on Greg's appearance…where it seemed to be heading a lot, lately. It wasn't automatically a bad thing nor was it really Ryan's fault because the other man was standing innocuously in the doorway, hair sticking up in whichever way and eyes doused with sleep and staring at Ryan.

It didn't help that Greg was only in a t-shirt and boxers, either, resting carelessly against his doorframe.

"I just wanted to…" Ryan broke off when he noticed the beginnings of a smile on Greg's face, eyes widening marginally and successfully distracting him from whatever is he was supposed to be doing. "…just wanted to ask…"

He closed his mouth when he realised Greg wasn't going to do anymore than watch him, unnerving grin plastered on his face as if it was taunting Ryan. Later on, the other man would say that's where Ryan picked up his adulation for Greg's mouth, to which he'd partially agree. But for now, it was just something that was doing a good job of keeping Ryan's attention and helping to encourage his need to participate in some kind of action.

Right now, he felt more than a little antsy and it was a feeling he didn't like. He was used to linear thinking, like heterogeneous mixtures that he could always separate, put different things where they'd belong. It was like that with his relationships, where Ryan knew what he wanted for one night; something that wouldn't last to the next day and something for which he wouldn't have to worry about getting tangled up in because he couldn't plan ahead for it.

Like this unexplainable attraction to someone he'd never really met.

Greg pushed himself from the door, leaving it open behind him and taking a single step towards Ryan. "Did you still want to…?"

"…yeah." Ryan was pretty sure Greg was talking about going into his apartment, glad but surprised the offer still stood. Though, he wasn't one to question his luck, having as little as he did.

"Me, too."

Ryan thought he could feel the blood circulating throughout his system as he tried not to lose his nerve. He let his hand rest on Greg's arm again, this time relishing in the tingling feeling as he brought himself closer to the other man.

Tentatively, Greg began to move his arm, as well; slowly at first then suddenly taking a hold of the other man's shoulder when Ryan pressed his lips against Greg's.

It was like a spark of electricity, the catalyst to some kind of inevitable combustion as he let his hand travel up Greg's arm, feeling the transition from skin to cloth beneath his fingers as they loosely grasped Greg's bicep.

He felt more than heard Greg's gasp, the other man opening his mouth when Ryan pushed him against the door and consequently into the apartment, their motions making the door connect with a wall inside.

Ryan groaned when Greg's other arm wrapped around his neck as he pressed Greg further into the door. His chest began to tighten when his tongue made it to the inside of Greg's mouth, opening Ryan to a wave of sensations. It was like one of those volatile reactions – some kind of large scale oxidation and no matter how hard he tried, Ryan couldn't break away.

The air was cool, mingling with the warmth of the apartment, tickling his exposed skin and Ryan reluctantly began to pull away. Greg hands were in his hair, running his hands through the strands as he gazed at Ryan, seemingly unfazed by the fact that he'd been making out with a stranger.

He wasn't sure what _this_ was, or if it was even anything at all. Normally, they would have made it to the bedroom by now, or the first available surface, but Ryan was still leaning against the other man. He lowered his head, mouth brushing over the fabric of Greg's shirt as he tried to think of what to do next.

"Ryan?"

He didn't look up when he heard Greg say his name questioningly, only doing so when he felt the other man softly tugging on his hair. Greg wore a hesitant grin, peering at Ryan expectantly until the corners of his mouth lifted to create something that took Ryan's breath away.

And that's when Ryan realised he was smiling, too.

* * *

_:insert standard disclaimer here:_

_This is my most recent Ryan/Greg...or was until I finished another one. Regardless, I'm actually proud of it and I truly liked it. I suppose the feeling will pass soon, but in the duration, I'll indulge in it. And yes, I'm working on HNF, but this was laying around and I don't like things taking up space in the Documents section._

_The fic is actually the background story mentioned in "Four Reasons for Hesistation and One for Certainty". I knew I didn't want to leave it there so I always had this idea in the back of my mind. Though, I didn't expect to make something of this extent; mostly because it's bit more sobre (dare I even say mature?) than I originally imagined it to be._


End file.
